Wednesday, May 10, 2017

By the Wayfair

"Wayfair in talks for Texas service center" by Megan Woolhouse Globe Staff January 20, 2016

Wayfair, the Boston home furnishings online retailer, is in talks with Texas officials about opening a customer service operation that would employ at least 300 people. Wayfair executives have discussed creating an operation with the Bryan Business Council, a local economic development agency, and the Research Valley Partnership, a regional economic group, local officials said. Bryan is a city of 76,000, located 6 miles from Texas A&M University and two hours northeast of Austin.

Wayfair could receive funding incentives totaling $50,000 from the Bryan Business Council through a plan under discussion with the Research Valley Partnership, according to Kevin Russell, Bryan’s director of development services. Wayfair would have to enter into a minimum of a seven-year lease and agree to create at least 300 jobs by December 2018 with an annual payroll of $10.8 million

“I’m hopeful they do expand here,” said Russell, who is a city liaison to the Bryan Business Council. “These would be full-time jobs with benefits, like insurance.”

"Adding a level of reality to online shopping" by Scott Kirsner Globe Correspondent May 05, 2016

Virtual reality is the kind of immersive experience that involves shutting out the real world and entering a totally manufactured digital realm; as you turn your head or even walk around a space, you “see” different perspectives.And here I am reading a real realm(?) -- the paper -- that sees only one per$pective.

Wayfair, which sold $2.25 billion worth of home furnishings online last year, has assembled a team of about five employees, dubbed Wayfair Next, to build demos and explore the potential of virtual reality and augmented reality. They are calling it a “mixed reality.”

The first step is creating a three-dimensional digital model of the furniture the site sells.

Analyst J.P. Gownder, a vice president at Forrester Research in Cambridge, says despite the dazzling demos, widespread use of virtual reality and augmented reality are “still a long way off.” While sales of virtual reality headsets will start to pick up in 2016, Gownder says, “the market remains in its infancy.”

If that’s the case, then Scott Evernden, a software developer and entrepreneur in Holliston, was present when the parents went on their first date. A decade ago, he was part of a small startup called Kinset that began to build three-dimensional digital stores that shoppers could walk through.

With virtual reality headsets hitting the market, Evernden is taking another pass. With the Kinset experience in mind, Evernden knows that the future of retail, just like the past, will all be about attracting traffic. But instead of trying to get shoppers through the threshold of a store, in this era it is all about getting virtual visitors to enter a place made only of pixels....The Matrix?

Wayfair, which went public in late 2014, has yet to turn a profit. Its net loss for the quarter was $41.2 million. Wayfair executives have said they expect the company to be profitable by the final quarter of this year.

Oliver Wintermantel, a managing director at Evercore International Strategy & Investment Group based in New York, said Wayfair is gaining US market share by attracting customers who used to shop at smaller local furniture shops or department store chains.

It is also drawing millennials who expect to do much of their shopping online, he said.

“A lot of mom and pops and department stores have just missed the boat in investing in online, because that’s where the growth is,” Wintermantel said. “The winners are places like Amazon and Wayfair.”Yes, all the $hopping is now hidden online.Do you realize the ripple effect? No more impulse or side purchases, no filling up the gas tank, no stop at the food court or restaurant.

Wayfair chief executive and cofounder Niraj Shah said in an earnings call Monday that the company has stepped up business efforts in the UK, Germany, and Canada, which had been in operation since 2008 or 2009.

He said the efforts to create a smooth supply chain have now progressed to the point where the company will begin expanding its advertising budget in the UK to increase its name recognition overseas.

Shah also said the company is trying to increase how much its US customers spend annually shopping on Wayfair.

“We want them to give us more share of wallet,” Shah said. “The way we’re trying to get that number to go up is we keep making the experience better.’’

The company announced in February that it would open new customer service and sales centers in Bangor and Brunswick, Maine, this summer that are expected to bring nearly 1,000 jobs....

Shares of Wayfair Inc. soared to an all-time high Tuesday after the company reported better-than-expected first quarter revenue.

Bloomberg retail industry analyst Seema Shah said the company’s launch of Perigold, a category of goods aimed at luxury consumers, helped, as did its growing investment in private label brands. Consumers’ willingness to spend more also was a factor.Like I said below, it's a Richer's world.

Wayfair, which went public in late 2014 and has 5,700 employees, has yet to turn a profit. Its net loss for the quarter was $56.5 million, up from $41.2 million during the same period a year ago. The average order value was also down slightly.How are they staying in bu$ine$$?

Wayfair shares also jumped in recent weeks after two Wall Street analysts separately suggested it may be a good acquisition target for a larger retailer such as Walmart.Aaaaah, the death throes of capitalism: cannibalism at the top.

Niraj Shah, the company’s chief executive, said efforts to build and advertise its house brands helped lift revenues.

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